Payra Bridge, Road bridge in Patuakhali, Bangladesh

Payra Bridge is a four-lane road bridge over the Burishwar River, 1,470 metres long and 18.3 metres above the water. A single 200-metre span crosses the river channel, supported by one pier in the water, with 7 kilometres of approach roads on both banks. The deck is carried by cables fanning from concrete pylons.

A student from Patuakhali wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asking for a bridge over the river; she promised to build it. In 2012 the Roads and Highways Department adopted the plan, and on 13 March 2013 Hasina laid the foundation stone. The bridge opened to traffic on 24 October 2021, five years later than first scheduled.

The bridge owes its existence to a letter a student from Patuakhali sent to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who then assured the project. It was inaugurated on 28 October 2021, ending the ferry crossing on the Barisal–Kuakata route and cutting 111.5 km of travel. It also links the Port of Payra with Dhaka.

The bridge carries the Dhaka–Barisal–Patuakhali–Kuakata highway across the Burishwar River at Lebukhali, in Dumki Upazila. Its deck stands 18.3 m above the water to let vessels pass, and about 7 km of approach roads run on both banks. Vehicles cross here instead of waiting for the former ferry.

Payra Bridge was one of the first bridges in Bangladesh to have a bridge health monitoring system. Sensors signal early if lightning, an earthquake or an overloaded vehicle threatens the structure. The deepest piles, at piers 17 and 18, reach 130 metres into the riverbed, the deepest river piles in the country.